In order to enable patterns whose critical dimension is less than 50 nm to be etched, methods for correcting increasingly complex optical distortions must be incorporated in the optical photolithography methods both at the stage of the design and production of the masks and at the stage of exposure. The costs of the equipment and of the developments for a new generation of technology increase accordingly in very high proportions. These days, the critical dimensions that can be accessed in photolithography are greater than or equal to 65 nm. The 32-45 nm generation is currently being developed and there is no viable solution envisaged for the technology nodes of less than 22 nm. For its part, electronic lithography now makes it possible to etch 22 nm patterns; it does not require any mask and offers a fairly short development time, which allows for a better responsiveness and flexibility in the production of improvements to the technologies and to the designs. On the other hand, the production times are structurally substantially higher than in photolithography since a stepped exposure (using a “stepper”) is required, whereas photolithography requires only a layered exposure. Furthermore, in electronic lithography as in photolithography, proximity effects occur, notably between adjacent lines of a pattern which are separated by only 10 to 30 nm. To guarantee the fidelity of the design, it is therefore necessary to correct these proximity effects. The methods of the prior art, notably those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,207, produce these corrections by increasing the radiation doses at the line edge. This increase in dose is reflected in a new increase in the exposure times, which constitutes a very significant handicap to the widespread industrial use of this technology.